The power division has decided to replace the 300 MW coal-based power plant at Gwadar with a solar plant.
The formal work on the project has not started even though it was approved in 2016. The project was conceived under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
As per the sources of power division, the government wants China to replace this imported coal-based power plant with a solar power plant of the same capacity. The Federal Minister for Power Engr. Khurram Dastgir has stated that the government has decided to ban the new power plants based on imported fuel, as reported by The News.
The federal minister has suggested that the country would seek to add new capacity to electricity generation through local sources, like solar, coal, wind, hydel, etc. Furthermore, he said that the government would continue to install nuclear power plants in the country.
The government has also decided to convert imported coal-based plants to local coal. They include the Sahiwal power plant, Port Qasim plant, and China Hub plant, said Khurram Dastgir.
The initiatives are meant to reduce the import bill of the country, as the fuel import bill alone has consumed about $20 billion during the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2022.
